Realty Check

Author: Maxine Ginsberg

What Your Money Will Buy… for $2.1 million, $1.6 million and $555,000.

$2.1 MILLION

“This house was a former model home in Grey Oaks, so it was filled with amenities like extensive woodworking, natural stone flooring and attention-getting ceiling details,” says Mary A. Yon, Gulf Coast International Properties, Naples. Yon, the listing agent on the four-bedroom, den, five-and-a-half bath home, continues, “Whoever chose the selections for this home when it was built had excellent forethought, from the kitchen and bath cabinets, to the granite, to the light fixtures. It looked current, rather than its age of seven years. It also meshed a traditional style that many people still want with an impeccable setting close to downtown Naples.” Selling agent Shannon Lefevre, John R. Wood Realtors, says the home, which has 4,858 air-conditioned square feet, closed in November for $2.1 million, unfurnished.

$1.6 MILLION

Listing agent Tiffany McQuaid reports that these buyers’ first step was to choose the Naples community they wanted. “Once they decided on Quail Creek, it was just a matter of finding the perfect fit,” she says. That turned out to be a four-bedroom, den, four-bath home with 4,817 square feet of living area. McQuaid, broker at Levitan-McQuaid Real Estate Services, said the home, built in 1986, has undergone extensive renovations, including those that maximized its sunlight potential. “Any home with great bones can become someone’s dream home, if they have a vision,” she says. “There are many grand windows and custom built-ins in the house, plus beautiful golf course views. This residence is designed to accommodate large gatherings or intimate get-togethers with equal grace.” The home sold in September for $1,582,000, unfurnished.

$555,000

A sixth-floor locale enhances the water views from this two-bedroom, den, two-bath condominium unit at Waterside, Fort Myers Beach. Selling agent Veronique Pascual, of SunStream Realty, Estero, lists some of the attractions as tile floors, crown molding, a built-in bar and electric storm shutters. She says, “The buyers liked the property because it came with a garage and featured an extra-large lanai with unobstructed water views.” Waterside provides private beach access and a fishing pier, and is adjacent to a golf course. Boat slips are available at the complex, which has 24-hour manned entry. Pascual notes that the Waterside community is within walking distance of shopping and restaurants. This home, built in 2003, has 1,806 air-conditioned square feet and 2,108 total square feet. It sold in October for $555,000, furnished.

Neighborhood WatchWindstar on Naples Bay

What is now windstar on naples bay opened its tom Fazio-designed golf course in 1983 with Gary Owens as its head professional. Golf greats Greg Norman and Nancy Lopez would also serve as touring pros at the 320-acre community created by Lloyd Sheehan two miles south of Tamiami Trail East on Bayshore Drive. Originally called Fisherman’s Cove, the property has 72 deep-water boat slips and has hosted numerous sailing regattas. Residents of its 15 neighborhoods have access to a private beach on Keewaydin Island. Windstar’s single- and multifamily homes are located close to the Old Naples shopping district and the Naples Botanical Garden.

Total number of properties: 554

Total MLS sales, Oct. 2010 to Oct. 2011: 25

Price range: $154,900 to $3,044,250

Total MLS sales, Oct. 2009 to Oct. 2010: 24

Price range: $184,000 to $1,295,000

On the market: Sunset views are one of the many attractions of a three-bedroom, den, three-bath single-family home on a gated street of 10 residences. Generous windows throughout the home illuminate the 2,926-foot floor plan and provide stunning outdoor views. The home has a large pool and spa and a screened lanai. Listing agent Nan Goebel, of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, reports this home, built in 1996 and pictured here, is priced at $1.65 million, furnished, and including a 50-foot boat slip at the Southpointe Yacht Club at Windstar.

Sample sale: Golf course and lake views are provided by a three-bedroom, two-bath coach home in the Marina Cove neighborhood. Built in 1999, this home has 1,700 air-conditioned square feet and 2,385 total square feet. According to selling agent Gail Wynns, a realtor with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, this private end unit has hickory flooring and a master bath Jacuzzi. The home sold in July, unfurnished, for $285,000 and previously sold in 2008 for $400,000, unfurnished.

Market TalkDemand Exceeds Supply in Some Areas

Too much inventory has been the scourge of the local real estate market, but a phenomenon from the past has reappeared: areas with few listings and some with no listings at all. “Some prospective buyers who shopped in the spring and thought they’d wait until fall to purchase have been surprised,” says Shannon Lefevre, of John R. Wood Realtors, Naples. “Usually, nothing much moves in the off-season, but this off-season was unusual.”
In early November, she explains, some sold-out Collier County communities were The Strand at Bay Colony, Sabre Cay in Port Royal, Jennifer Shores and Waldorf in The Moorings, and, in Pelican Bay, the Bay Villas, Carlton Place and St. Thomas communities.
In his November newsletter, realtor Steve Schoepfer, of Downing-Frye Realty, cites company vice president and general manager Mike Hughes as saying, “Properties are selling faster than they are coming on the market.”
“I think we all assumed there’d be this second wave of inventory hitting the market once the over-supply had been absorbed, but looking at October, new listings were down 36 percent in Naples compared to last year—not exactly the direction we were expecting,” Lefevre observes.
She notes another factor that may have kept prospective sellers standing pat. “As supply decreases, prices usually increase, but last fall, prices remained fairly stable, so sellers who’ve been waiting for higher prices are still in a holding pattern.”
Things aren’t quite the same in Lee County, according to Steve Petty of VIP Realty, Fort Myers.
“I think we have more folks here with mortgages,” he explains. “They are motivated to sell and maybe move on to places like Aspen, where prices are attractive right now. Some people are selling low in order to buy low.” And there is price escalation, he says.
Lynette L. Grout, of John R. Wood Realtors, says Bonita Bay and The Colony at Pelican Landing have achieved a balanced market, and if inventories don’t surge, it may soon be a seller’s market there. “In early November, there were no listings in nine Bonita Bay neighborhoods and none in four at Pelican Landing,” she says